the openness of the American
;Jewish community."
Mr. Daviter says hearing
;.;survivors stories had a profound
impact on him. "My first day
?-here, I walked through the
";museum — there was very
little I didn't know about.
What I didn't have was an emo-
tional connection to the Holo-
caust."
Listening to survivors can pre-
the Holocaust from becom-
s.
% ing just another topic in history,
he says.
In Germany, "the guilt of the
generation after needs to be re-
' placed in the next generation,"
, says Mr. Daviter. "I would imag-
ine that some people still have
guilt feelings but [do] not ac-
knowledge that." .
Mr. Daviter's stay has not been
all work and no play. He has
made friends here, including sev-
eral who attend the University of
Michigan. He admits to spending
a lot of time driving between Ann
Arbor and West Bloomfield.
"I think it's important that I
had something totally different
going on outside of the Holo-
caust," he says.
But not too much. Mr. Daviter
also took a few Holocaust class-
es, taught by Professor Sidney
Bolkosky at U-M Dearborn. Pro-
fessor Bolkosky invited Mr.
Pushing A Button
For U-M Jewish Unity
Daviter to audit one class, which
inspired the young man to sign
up for two more.
"Almost immediately, he be-
came one of my best teachers in
my life. [Professor Bolkosky]
taught all the same topics and
faots I had in high school, but PHIL JACOBS EDITOR
[struck a] good balance between
tarting Sunday at the Uni-
facts and the emotional side."
versity of Michigan, Jewish
Mr. Daviter's official last day
student leaders will literal-
here was Jan. 31, and he leaves
ly be pinning their efforts on
the United States Feb. 5. But he
does not plan to leave his experi- a campaign to recruit people and
raise some money for the United
ence behind.
Jewish
Appeal.
Mr. Daviter and Rabbi Charles
The pin, a half-maize and half-
Rosenzveig, founder and director
of the Holocaust Memorial Cen- blue button, will be given to any
ter, hope to bring more German Jewish student who donates at
adolescents here to fulfill their least $1 to the UJA. The goal: 100
percent participation from the
civil service.
"I don't want [my stay here] to school's 6,000 Jewish (4,000 un-
be this one-time good experience dergrad) students.
It's called the Half-Shekel Cam-
without change for anything ex-
cept my personal life," says Mr. paign, and it's based on God's com-
Daviter. He plans to interview mandment to Moses to take a
prospective candidates in Ger- census, with every Israelite pay-
ing a half-shekel "as an offering
many for Rabbi Rosenzveig.
to
the Lord." (Exodus 30:11-13).
Bringing over more German
Ari Nisman, a senior business
youngsters "is probably the one
thing that would make me very communications major, is cam-
paign chair. The months of plan-
proud," Mr. Daviter says.
"I think the greatest asset is ning will come to a head Sunday
yet to come," says Rabbi Rosen- at 6 p.m. at Hillel when 100 core
zveig. "The body of knowledge he volunteers will gather for a kick-
acquired here is going to have an off rally.
"By wearing that button or
impact on the young people in
making that pledge, a person will
Germany." ❑
feel Jewish and also feel great to
S
6PITZEQ'8
be part of our group," said Mr. Nis-
man. Contributors will also see
their name printed in the Michi-
gan Daily in an April advertise-
ment.
At the end of this month, par-
ticipants will be invited to a cam-
pus-wide Shabbat dinner. In
March, there will be a huge Purim
party at Hillel, and a campus-wide
seder is scheduled for Passover.
"What this campaign is trying
to do is to get Jewish students
when they are young," said Mr.
Nisman. "We wait so long in life
to give Jewish people a sense of
Judaism and unity. This is a way
to give someone early in his or her
college life an opportunity to give
tzedekah. We will teach the tal-
mudic phrase, 'Whoever saves one
life, it is as if he or she has saved
the entire world.'
"Students know this, too," said
Mr. Nisman, whose roommate
Stefan Malter designed the but-
ton. "But nobody's ever made an
attempt to reach out. If it works
at Michigan, it will work at any
other campus, linking the entire
Jewish world under one common
Half-Shekel campaign through-
out the world. We hope to create
excitement through this program."
For Hillel's executive director,
Michael Brooks, the effort isn't -
about giving a buck, but is instead
about involving a person in a com-
munity, not to mention creating
that community.
"We want to show the students
that they can be part of a rich ma-
trix of Jewish life and at the same
time we want to show that we can
change the way people feel about
Jewish giving on campus," said
Mr. Brooks.
Last year, the U-M UJA cam-
pus campaign involved about a
dozen students raising $4,000.
The funds came from 250 stu-
dents through phone solicitations
and bagel sales.
According to Mr. Brooks, if
every Jewish student donated $1,
the campaign would generate 50
percent more than last year.
Again, though, the goal is to get
more students participating in
some aspect of campus Jewish life.
First, however, comes a feeling of
identification.
"The University of Michigan,"
said Mr. Brooks, "is a comfortable
place for people to be Jewish.
"To identify yourself as a mem-
ber of the tribe — that's what we
want here. The focus is on the peo-
ple, not the dollars." ❑
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